The story
Read it all →How Ephrata came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ephrata.
Ephrata was officially incorporated on June 21, 1909 and was given the county seat for the newly created Grant County.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Ephrata
Ephrata dates to 1886, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #75 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Ephrata was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listings are the Grant County Courthouse, the Bell Hotel and the Columbia Basin Project Irrigation Division Headquarters Office. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1910.
1886founded
3on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Quick answers
How Ephrata began
When was Ephrata founded?
1886
Ephrata dates its founding to 1886 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 323 in 19102020 census: 8,477140 years
How historic is Ephrata?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1900.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ephrata’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ephrata is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #75 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ephrata’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±4.5) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 74%
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ephrata’s 3.5 sits above most of its state (71% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1886.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ephrata’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Ephrata’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ephrata’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Ephrata, 1886 to 1992
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1886FoundingEphrata is established
- 20th century
- 1900Post officeThe Ephrata post office opens
- 1917Born hereKen Dow is born here
- 1938
BuiltBell Hotel is built - 1956
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1985
Born hereGavin Seim is born here - 1992
In the archiveEphrata Wall
By decade
Ephrata, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1990s1 item
On the map
Ephrata on the map, 1956 to 1978
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ephrata. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Ephrata sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ephrata.
Every building
Ephrata, building by building, 1912–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1912Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
3 historic places in Ephrata
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Grant County Courthouse
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Neoclassical Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Ephrata, census by census
Grew from 323 people in 1910 to 8,477 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ephrata’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Ephrata
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Ephrata’s post office has been open since 1900.
Gone or out of use
Ephrata Army Air Fieldmilitary
1cemetery inside Ephrata
Ephrata
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ephrata’s history
What year was Ephrata founded?
In 1886, according to Wikidata. Ephrata’s post office opened in 1900, and the census of 1910 counted 323 people here.
How does Ephrata rank for history?
Ephrata is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #75 of 285 in Washington. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ephrata?
Three places: the Grant County Courthouse (listed 1975), the Bell Hotel (1997) and the Columbia Basin Project Irrigation Division Headquarters Office (2019).
How old are the homes in Ephrata?
6% of Ephrata’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1970.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.